Newsmakers: Nancy Cicco ’84

Nancy Cicco ’84, of York, Maine, was named the editor of the Hampton Union in January. As editor, she will be responsible for directing the coverage and setting policies for the newspaper published by Seacoast Media Group, located in Portsmouth, N.H. The paper is published twice weekly and covers the New Hampshire towns of Hampton, Seabrook, North Hampton and Hampton Falls. Seacoastonline.com featured a story about her new job. “Hampton residents can expect Nancy to be hard-working, accessible and fair, just what you want in a community newspaper editor,” said Howard Altschiller, executive editor of Seacoast Media Group. Cicco, who majored in English at Wheaton, has won several awards from the New Hampshire, Maine and New England press associations. After spending about 10 years in public relations and event planning, she became a reporter. “More often, reporters go on to careers in public relations, but for whatever reason, I did the opposite,” she said. Cicco worked as a freelance reporter for The Sun (Lowell, Mass.) for about two years before joining Seacoast Media Group, which publishes the daily Portsmouth Herald and four other local weekly papers. At various times over the past 13 years, she worked as a reporter and an editor. Her Wheaton experience helps her every day, she said. “However, beyond academics, Wheaton taught me about the importance of camaraderie and friendship and the importance of standing up for one’s convictions. Wheaton’s strength is its liberal arts offerings. Students will be well served by the school’s new journalism minor. It obviously helps reporters to have strong writing skills. Beyond writing skills, reporters need critical-thinking skills, a willingness to ask questions, and the ability to investigate and work hard. A love of history doesn’t hurt, either. Wheaton helped hone all of those skills in me.”